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[ga, sugar--am.r-so Oil. Wllen rue:­Q,
uffalo were thinning out we had!,
se.veral meeting-s to decide on what~
to do next. \-\Te realized t.hat wei
could not liye on hUlltin~ forever.l
One ,l:;eneral meeting W<lS called
and it· was decidecl to settle penna-nently
some,,'here. ' i
"In 1878 I remember my father-!
in·law, old Pierre Berger, decided i
to'''Cross the :i\Iissouri. He told his'
sons he had heard of a place that
he !;>elieved would be suitable for;
all, Mr, Berger was a man weli i
known to the Indians who both
fear8l1 allllrespected him. He had
figurec[ in many Indian fights, espe- ,
cially with the! Sionx. The Indians
called him Chat·Ea whidt means
'left handed.' lIe always acted as
chief guide. As 1 was the oldest of
his daughters-in-law. I ,\'as asked if
I wanted to go along and s\')ttle
wit.l~ the others. 1 could not. make
liP my mind to llo at. onee, as I
had nlway:; rcganJ<)d l\1iuJI(,'lola as
'my hOllie slate and' nalul'ally waJlt­cd
lo ,go, back therE'. but they final­iy
gal my consent lo travel furthet'
west in the ,,'inter of 1879. SlJ
in lhe spring oJ: that year a band
of 25 families, headed by old Pierre
Berger, started from Malta and
went on to Fort Benton, where we
crossed t.he Missouri and camC' on
down to A1TO\\' Creek Vve had
never seen such bad lands before
but :;omehow we got through and
on around the mountains to Box
JYldet· and the Musselshell region
and around the Snowy nlount.ains.
\Ve came in by the 'Gap' to what is
now the Judith Basin.' It was in­deed
a pradise in t.hat early day,
a land of plenty, witlt game of all
kind:; iJl abundance. "Ve coulll
hardly have asked for more than
nature had provided us here and
so in the montll OL ~Tay, 1879 we
settled at 'Reedsfort.' The only
white man we fouiHl ,,'as called:
'Booze' (Bowles?) who was mar­ried
to a Piegan Indian woman. \
He ran some kind of a trading post
sit.uated near t:le present site of,
tha COUll ty farm_.__ 'I
"Of the 2[) families that. came ill \
with this company t.here were, as
I recall, some of the Bergers, \
Klines, IJaFountains, Doneys, Fi-\
ants, and vVilldes. The Doneys aud
Fiants Sttlled around Fort Magin-!
nis in the early '80's. The Bergers '
settled on Halt' Breed creek and I
Boyd creek and Ben Kline settled I
on Half Breek creek. Til t.he fall,
of 1879 the lIext eontingent of our
peoille came in, including the Ja­neaux.
Morase. La"e~·c1ure. "Vells, I
Daniels, ancl LaTray families, in-j
eluding' old Mose La-Tray, who I
helped to build the original! old log I
,
HISTORY BY THOSE WH-O
MADE IT
A link with the Imst was brollen
indeed with the death of Ben Kline
last week, said Mrs. Isaie Berger,
generally known liS "Aunt Clem·
ence," residing at 103 East Boule·
vanl when she listened to the re<ld­ing
of the tributes llll;d the old
pioneer. ,Old Ben w'as ever a Idnd
friend and neighbor of hers since
childhood and his passing bringing
back the memory of the old days
she' said:
"While we roamed the prairies of­western
Minnesota and eastern
,North Dakota we were always in
the same company of people of part
Indian blood. Vve traveled in many
groups, but so far back as I can
remember Old Ben always traveled
with PierJ'e Berger <lllli his f<lInily
of 13 children. Of these Peter
Berger was the oldest and he never
m'anied; Isaie Berger, my hus­band;
Isadore, John B., Jac!" Bar­ney,
who resides at Belcourt, North
Dakota; while of .the daugh,ters,
o.nly Mr.s. Art McCarthy now lives
in Lew'istown. 'We left Dalwta
shortly after I was married in 1870
and we roamed all over North Da­kot.
a. just. camping here and there
but without tliought of settling per­llHIlIC'ntly
in al~y place-just follow·
ing tite bdfalo trails, coming in
from Ute Canarlian lines around the
cOllntry called "Vood mountains
and from thence on to l\lilk Riyer,
on Ow' bil!; 'Horse Shoe' as we lIsed
to call it. That is whero Malla
now :;tanu:;. vVe wC"e as far noil1tl
as CYllre:;' lIill:; in Cmmda. How"
ever, we maue our headquarters at
the prer:;ent site of Malla. From
there we x:oa,med on. o'ut alL over
the east.ern part. of Montana, but
al,,'ayl; C<lme back to Malt.a.
"Yuu may thiuk we lived the lIre
of real Indians, but one thing we
had with us alw<lYs that they did
l}.ot-religion, Wherever we were
we had sOlUe .Jesuit l1lis:;iollaries
willi us. 'l'hey baptized our chil­dron
amI in:;trueted them in the
Catholic faith. Arm we always did
tl~Y to live in accordance with their
teachings. In fact, in those earlicr
d3YS I believe peoiJle gell'erally
Vi'ere more deeply religiou:; than
now, Every night we had prayer
ll1cetil;g <lnd bdore .1 buffalu l1nli i.
you would see our men on bended
k\leeS in prayer. 'Ve endured many
hardships-yes. There were times
when We eOllld lIOt find any !;>uf·
f[\lo or oll~er, kinc1 o[ game, and OC,
casionally even water was hal'll to
find. Yet' sOI:nehow we were all
happy. Om·',men did all the hunt·
hig and ,,'e women did all the tan·
ning of the bu'ffalo robes, drying
meat and maldng moce-asins. For
oth3r supplies we generally had
some traders with us like Francis
.Janeanx, who always had a supply
o,f clothing, along with Jobacco,
-_.- - ------ - - _.._--- .-,-
postoffice that still stands out in
the city park. The, following-year
;\-nt.oine Oulette 'and family'- came
111.
Janeaux, Morase and Oulette
took up'their homesteads in what
is no,,· Lewistown. It was Mr.
Oulotte who donated, a piece 'of
land for, a, site for the original
Cat.holie cemetery here: .His daugh­,
t.er, ,Mrs. James, Wells, was the
first to be buried ,there. ' ,
. "Little did we think thEm that
one day we woul~ behold a. .beauU;
fnl little city' grow ,up here. We
have seen many" changes and de­velopments
and~ new mearrs - of
t.ransportation inaugurated to 'bring
in supplies. ' ,
"Our means' of transportation In
those old days were the Red river
carts and bull teams. Then' came
the Jaw Bone railroad the l\Illwau~
kee, ' followed ',by ilUt~mobiles and
the l;Jirds of' the air."
\" '.
, , f
,'.~Of t.he 25, families who, }Jlade
; that original settlement' in', the
: BasiiJ, 'Oilly three su:rvlve. ,They
l are Mrs. Betsy Berg-er, .'wife' of,the
i1ate J;, n.:Bergel'; !"Irs. Art;-,-iYlc~I'
I,Carthy and myself." . ,' '._......,.',- 'I
I 'Bolemon 1?~SS Wl\S born lie::,r wh-atJ
1
i
is now Devil sLake. N. D. III 1854.
IHe came to Montana and up the riv­leI'
to Ft. Benton at the age of 11. A
i few years after arriving in the terri-tory
he moved t.o what is now L<cwis­town
and has made his home here al­most
continuously since. I Beside hi" widow. Mrs. Mary Dess
:he is survived by five children. three
boys and two girls. They are James,
'j\lt,ert_ LPo. Madeline ann Josephine,
all residents of this vicinity. One
son, Joe. died here a year ago an.d
two other children preceded thelr
faLller in death by several years.

Early history of the Metis who settled the Lewistown area in 1879-1882.

Creator

Mrs. Isaie Berger "Aunt Clemence"

Genre

documents

Type

Text

Date Original

1879

Subject (keyword)

Metis; Red River carts; Ben Kline;

Subject (AAT)

Homesteads;

Rights Management

No copyright restrictions

Contributing Institution

Lewistown Public Library, Lewistown, Montana

Geographic Coverage

Lewistown, Montana.

Coverage-date

1879

Digital Format

application/pdf

Physical format

Typed document.

Digitization Specifications

Canon MX310 300dpi

Full text of this item

HISTORY BY THOSE WHO MADE IT
A link with the past was broken indeed with the death of Ben Kline last week, said Mrs. Isaie Berger, generally known as "Aunt Clemence" residing at 103 East Boulevard when she listened to the reading of the tributes paid the old pioneer. Old Ben was ever a kind friend and neighbor of hers since childhood and his passing bringing back the memory of the old days she said:
"While we roamed the prairies of western Minnesota and eastern North Dakota we were always in the same company of people of part Indian blood. We traveled in many groups, but so far back as I can remember Old Ben always traveled with Pierre Berger and his family of 13 children. Of these Peter Berger was the oldest and he never married; Isaie Berger, my hus¬band; Isadore, John B., Jack, Bar¬ney, who resides at Belcourt, North Dakota; while of the daughters, only Mrs. Art McCarthy now lives in Lewistown. We left Dakota shortly after I was married in 1870 and we roamed all over North Da¬kota, just camping here and there but without thought of settling per¬manently in any place just follow¬ing the buffalo trails, coming in from the Canadian lines around the country called Wood mountains and from thence on to Milk River, on the big 'Horse Shoe' as we used to call it. That is where Malta now stands. We were as far north as Cypress Hills in Canada. However, we made our headquarters at the present site of Malta. From there we roamed on out all over the eastern part of Montana, but always came back to Malta.
"You may think we lived the life of real Indians, but one thing we had with us always that they did not—religion. Wherever we were we had some Jesuit missionaries with us. They baptized our chil¬dren and instructed them in the Catholic faith. And we always did try to live in accordance with their teachings. In fact, in those earlier days I believe people generally were more deeply religious than now. Every night we had prayer meeting and before a buffalo hunt you would see our men on bended knees in prayer. We endured many hardships-yes. There were times when we could not find any buf¬falo or other, kind of game and oc¬casionally even water was hard to find. Yet somehow we were all happy. Our men did all the hunt¬ing and we women did all the tan¬ning of the buffalo robes, drying meat and making moccasins. For other supplies we generally had some traders with us like Francis Janeaux, who always had a supply of clothing, along with, tobacco, tea, sugar—so on. When the buffalo were thinning out we had several meetings to decide on what to do next. We realized that we could not live on hunting forever. One general meeting was called and it was decided to settle perma¬nently somewhere.
"In 1878 I remember my father-in-law, old Pierre Berger, decided to cross the Missouri. He told his sons he had heard of a place that he believed would be suitable for all. Mr. Berger was a man well known to the Indians who both feared and respected him. He had figured in many Indian fights, espe¬cially with the Sioux. The Indians called him Chat-Ka which means left handed. He always acted as chief guide. As I was the oldest of his daughters-in-law, I was asked if I wanted to go along and settle with the others. I could not make up my mind to do at once, as I had always regarded Minnesota as my home state and naturally want¬ed to go back there, but they final¬ly got my consent to travel further west in the winter of 1879. So in the spring of that year a band of 25 families, headed by old Pierre Berger, started from Malta and went on to Fort Benton, where we crossed the Missouri and came on down to Arrow Creek. We had never seen such bad lands before but somehow we got through and on around the mountains to Box Elder and the Musselshell region and around the Snowy mountains. We came in by the 'Gap' to what is now the Judith Basin. It was in¬deed a paradise in that early day, a land of plenty, with game of all kinds in abundance. We could hardly have asked for more than nature had provided us here and so in the month of May, 1879 we settled at 'Reedsfort.' The only white man we found was called 'Booze' (Bowles?) who was married to a Piegan Indian woman. He ran some kind of a trading post situated near the present site of the county farm.
"Of the 25 families that came in with this company there were, as I recall, some of the Bergers, Klines, LaFountains, Doneys, Fi¬ants, and Wilkies. The Doneys and Fiants settled around Fort Magin¬nis in the early '80's. The Bergers settled on Half Breed creek and Boyd creek and Ben Kline settled on Half Breed creek. In the fall of 1879 the next contingent of our people came in, including the Ja¬neaux. Morase, Laverdure, Wells, Daniels, and LaTray families, in¬cluding old Mose LaTray, who helped to build the original old log post office that still stands out in the city park. The, following year Antoine Ouellette and family came in.
Janeaux, Morase and Ouellette took up their homesteads in what is now Lewistown. It was Mr. Ouellette who donated a piece of land for a site for the original Catholic cemetery here. His daugh¬ter, Mrs. James Wells, was the first to be buried, there. "Little did we think then that one day we would behold a beautiful little city grow up here. We have seen many changes and de-velopments and new means of transportation inaugurated to bring in supplies.
"Our means of transportation in those old days were the Red river carts and bull teams. Then came the Jaw Bone railroad, the Milwau¬kee, followed by automobiles and the birds of the air."
"Of the 25 families who made that original settlement in the Basin, only three survive. They are Mrs. Betsy Berger, wife of the late J. B. Berger; Mrs. Art McCarthy and myself." Solemon Dess was born near what is now Devil's Lake, N. D. in 1854. He came to Montana and up the riv¬er to Ft. Benton at the age of 11. A few years after arriving in the terri¬tory he moved to what is now Lewistown and has made his home here almost continuously since.
Beside his widow, Mrs. Mary Dess he is survived by five children, three boys and two girls. They are James, Albert, Leo, Madeline and Josephine, all residents of this vicinity. One son, Joe, died here a year ago and two other children preceded their father in death by several years.

[ga, sugar--am.r-so Oil. Wllen rue:­Q,
uffalo were thinning out we had!,
se.veral meeting-s to decide on what~
to do next. \-\Te realized t.hat wei
could not liye on hUlltin~ forever.l
One ,l:;eneral meeting Welieved would be suitable for;
all, Mr, Berger was a man weli i
known to the Indians who both
fear8l1 allllrespected him. He had
figurec[ in many Indian fights, espe- ,
cially with the! Sionx. The Indians
called him Chat·Ea whidt means
'left handed.' lIe always acted as
chief guide. As 1 was the oldest of
his daughters-in-law. I ,\'as asked if
I wanted to go along and s\')ttle
wit.l~ the others. 1 could not. make
liP my mind to llo at. onee, as I
had nlway:; rcganJuf·
f[\lo or oll~er, kinc1 o[ game, and OC,
casionally even water was hal'll to
find. Yet' sOI:nehow we were all
happy. Om·',men did all the hunt·
hig and ,,'e women did all the tan·
ning of the bu'ffalo robes, drying
meat and maldng moce-asins. For
oth3r supplies we generally had
some traders with us like Francis
.Janeanx, who always had a supply
o,f clothing, along with Jobacco,
-_.- - ------ - - _.._--- .-,-
postoffice that still stands out in
the city park. The, following-year
;\-nt.oine Oulette 'and family'- came
111.
Janeaux, Morase and Oulette
took up'their homesteads in what
is no,,· Lewistown. It was Mr.
Oulotte who donated, a piece 'of
land for, a, site for the original
Cat.holie cemetery here: .His daugh­,
t.er, ,Mrs. James, Wells, was the
first to be buried ,there. ' ,
. "Little did we think thEm that
one day we woul~ behold a. .beauU;
fnl little city' grow ,up here. We
have seen many" changes and de­velopments
and~ new mearrs - of
t.ransportation inaugurated to 'bring
in supplies. ' ,
"Our means' of transportation In
those old days were the Red river
carts and bull teams. Then' came
the Jaw Bone railroad the l\Illwau~
kee, ' followed ',by ilUt~mobiles and
the l;Jirds of' the air."
\" '.
, , f
,'.~Of t.he 25, families who, }Jlade
; that original settlement' in', the
: BasiiJ, 'Oilly three su:rvlve. ,They
l are Mrs. Betsy Berg-er, .'wife' of,the
i1ate J;, n.:Bergel'; !"Irs. Art;-,-iYlc~I'
I,Carthy and myself." . ,' '._......,.',- 'I
I 'Bolemon 1?~SS Wl\S born lie::,r wh-atJ
1
i
is now Devil sLake. N. D. III 1854.
IHe came to Montana and up the riv­leI'
to Ft. Benton at the age of 11. A
i few years after arriving in the terri-tory
he moved t.o what is now L